This invention relates to cooling or heating apparats to be used with suspended ceiling configurations in a home, office or other commercial or industrial buildings.
It has heretofore been known to mount relatively thin metal tiles in a suspended ceiling configuration of a room or space and to provide apparatus for cooling or heating such mounted tiles. The heating or cooling apparatus typically comprises straight tubes which run back and forth over the top surfaces of the tiles. The tubes usually contain flowing water having a regulated temperature sufficient to provide heat to or remove heat from the tiles so as to thereby maintain the tiles at a temperature sufficient to radiantly heat or cool the room.
It has been found that the thin tiles in such a suspended ceiling configuration do not necessarily remain flat. In particular, the tiles will tend to follow the curvature of the suspended ceiling as it flexes, bends or sags due to the weight of the tubes and other loads being carried by the suspended ceiling. This causes the ceiling tiles to lose contact with the straight tubes. This loss of contact significantly impacts the heat exchange between the tiles and the tubes.
Solutions to the above loss of contact have in the past included gluing or clipping the straight tubes to the thin metal tiles in as many places as possible so as to maintain contact between the straight tubes and the tiles. This has resulted in considerable strain being placed on the straight tubing as well as the glue, or clips holding the tubing to the tiles when the ceiling sags due to the weight being carried by the suspended ceiling.